There’s No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk!

What do you think?

There’s no use crying over spilled milk is an idiom. What do you think it means?

A long time ago, there was a man who set traps to catch birds and animals. One day the only thing he found in his trap was a tiny sparrow. The hunter grabbed the sparrow and started to go home.

“ Hey! Mr. Hunter! What good will I be to you? I’m so small. The meat from my body is not even enough for one tooth. If you cut me open, you will see that my ribs are as thin as hairs. My little legs are like twigs. If you put me in a cage, I will die of sadness. I must fly. I must flap my wings and enjoy my freedom. Please let me go.”

The man was interested in the sparrow’s request. “If I let you go, what will you do for me?”

“I will share two pieces of advice from my forefathers,” said the sparrow.

“Okay. I agree,” said the man, not quite believing his ears.

“I will tell you the first piece of advice while I am in your hands. Then I will tell you the second piece of advice after you have set me free. But it is hard to speak because you are squeezing me so tightly.”

“Take it easy. Now you can speak,” said the man, and he let the sparrow free.

The sparrow sat on a bush and smoothed out his feathers. “Here’s the first piece of advice: Don’t cry over spilled milk.”

(Don’t regret something that has already happened and that you can do nothing about anymore.)

“ And the second piece of advice,” continued the sparrow, “Believe your own eyes!”

“Is that all?” said the man, disappointed. “I already know that.”

“No. You don’t understand,” smiled the sparrow.

“What’s there to understand?” asked the man.

“In my beak there is a diamond as big as a fist!” said the sparrow. Then the bird suddenly flew off the bush into the air.

The man lunged at the bird, but he could not catch him. The man started to run after the sparrow, but the sparrow flew just slow enough and low enough to make the man keep chasing him.

“You tricked me!” yelled the man.

“No. I did not trick you,” said the sparrow. “I am teaching you. You did not understand my advice. Because I am so small, it is not possible for me to have a diamond the size of a fist in my beak. You should have believed your own eyes. And now that I am free, you cannot catch me again because I have wings that will take me up into the sky. You should not cry over spilled milk. You should not regret something you can no longer do anything about.” Then the sparrow flew high up into the air and out of sight.

But the man continued to feel bad because he let the sparrow free and because he thought he had lost a diamond the size of a fist.

What do you think?

What would you say to the man to make him feel better?

The Ant

A long time ago one ant lived in an anthill where all the ants lived. They all worked together every day. And they spent all their time together. But the ant wanted to see the world, so he left his anthill. He walked along the road and into a meadow. He began to make friends with other insects. He met a bee and a butterfly.

What do you think?

What did the ant say to introduce himself? What kinds of questions did the bee and the butterfly ask him? Practice the dialogue with a classmate.

O ne day the ant went looking for food, and he found a nut. He pushed and pushed the nut, but the nut would not move. It would not budge. The ant decided to ask his new friends to help him. “Bee!” he said to the bee, who was flying from one flower to another flower. “I have found a nut on the ground. But I have tried and tried to move it, and it will not move. It will not budge. Could you help me?”

“What?” said the bee. “You want me to stop my work just to help you?”

“No, no,” said the ant who was embarrassed. Then the ant saw the butterfly. “Butterfly! I have found a nut on the ground. But I have tried and tried to move it, and it will not move. It will not budge. Could you help me move it?”

The butterfly was also flying from one flower to another flower. She said, “Maybe you cannot see that I am quite busy? I do not have time to help you.”

The ant did not know what to do. He was used to all the ants working together, helping each other. He did not understand this new world. He liked living in the meadow. He liked the sunshine and the grass and the flowers, but he did not understand these new friendships. He went back to the anthill. There he saw all of his old friends.

What do you think?

What happens? What happens to the nut? What happens to the ant? Do you think the ant wants to live in the anthill again? Or does he return to the meadow? Finish the story. Write a dialogue between the characters.